Hollow elastic playing ball



June 16, 1925. 1,542,005

R. E. RILEY HOLLOW ELASTIG PLAYING BALL Original FiledOcr.. 3l. 1921 Patented June 16, 1925.

4UNITED STATES PATENT oFF ICE.

RALPH E. RILEY, `0F AKRON, OHIO. SSIGNORTO THE MILLER RUBBER COMPANY, OF AKRON, OHIO, .A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

HOLLOW Vniunsrrcv PLAING BALL.

Griginaiappncation med october sil 192i, serial No. 511,?20. invited and this application filed January 17, ieee. serial No. 529,876.

T To all Lo/mm t 'may concern.

` Beit known that I, RALPH E. RILEY, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Akron, in the county of Summit and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useiul Improvements in I-Iollow Elastic Playing Balls, of which the following is a speciiication, division of application Serial Number 511,720, tiled Oct. 31, 1921.

One object oi the invention is to provide ahollow playing ball having a decoration, design, picture or figure on its 'iace which will'be attractive and pleasing to the user, the ball being as elastic and as durable as an ordinary ball having no decoration thereon. y y

In carrying out the invention I`aim` to provide a construction which will avoid the use of objectionable paint or enamel, `in pro,-` 'viding the design or ornamentation, and in which the elasticity of the ball` will beinaintained indefinitely at approximately its fulldegree throughout all its parts.

The invention comprises the novel article hereinafter described and particularly defined by the appended claims.

In the accinpanying drawingse-4 Figure 1` is an outside viewer". the ball;

F ig.` 2 isa sectional View.

F ig. 3 is a` view `oif an uncured ball and the inlay piece juxtaposed thereto but before being incorporated therewith.

In these drawings 1 indicates the body material of the ball, and 2 the elastic rubber piece providing thedesign. i This piece may assume various forms, and it may function in different ways, that is, it may be of the shape in outline of the figure, design,'or picture, and being differently colored in respect to the balls body, it will of .itself give an ornamental design or picture effect, or as shown itis considered best to print on this piece the details of the picture or desien.

l5This piece ot' rubber, 'for instance, may be white and the design may be printed thereon in red and black. The sheet rubber piece is trimmed to the outline of the design by means of cutting dies made to correspond to the outline of the printing form or plate. I

In the production of the ball I take the two halves or blanks which make up the main body and cut them together with a blower between. I then place the rubber piece or pieces 2 upon the ball body and because of the tackycondition ofthe rubber, the piece will stick to the body blank. It may be tacked at desired points by tapping it by any pointedV instrument like a-lead pencil point as disclosed for example in my application tiled Oct. 31, 1921, No. 511,720 of which this application is a division. I preferably use two pieces ot rubber arranged at substantially dian'ietrically opposite points of the ball.

The uncured ball with the thin sheet rub? ber design piece attached thereto is placed in a mold and the heat of the mold generates gas from the blower and softens the rubber so that the inlayingof the sheet rubber design member into the surface, of the ball will be effectedV and the autogenous union between this member and the body of the ball secured, while at the saine time the ball vis expanded to conform tothe mold cavity.

I'term this action inlaying, as the sheet rubberpiecelis set into the surface'ot' the ball flush therewith. This inlaying action takes place automatically when the heating in theimold and the generation of the from the blowertake-s place. The exterior of the completed ball is smooth and flush throughout, no joint being perceptible to the eye or touch where the edge of the design piece connects with the `adjacentporh tion of the body or the ball. i

l/Vhile I do not limit myself to any particular form of design or outline for the rubberinlaymember-,it is preferable to select forms of designs or pictures having ra-V diating parts presenting indentations between them because they are more readily applied without buckling to a sphericalsurface. For instance, a star is more easily applied than a circular disc. Design pieces of animals or birds or human beings, all of Awhich consist of a central body portion and limbs extending therefrom, are easy of application. Further, the material of the inlay pieces beingthin rubber, the tendency to buckle is slight. In the drawing it will be understood that the Mother Goose representation of a chicken in wearing apparel and carrying a basket consists of a rubber piece cut to the outline of chicken, basket, and wearing apparel and having its surface printed to complete the picture and this design presents the indented configuration well adapted for application to the ball without buckling.

Referring to Figure 3 the' design or inlay piece is indicated at 2 and the uncured ball at 4, and as the latter has tacky surface it will pick up the design piece, Which'may be tacked down at various points around its contour by the use of any suitable instrument like an awl which is applied here and there by the workman. rlhe uncured ball is then ready to be placed in the mold.

It will be understood that the design member is made of rubber considerably thinner than the wall of the ball, and it is found that the thickness of the composite wall portion of the ball 2e where the inlay occurs is practically no thicker than the adjacent portions of the main wall of thel ball. That is, the inlay adds no appreciable thickness at the point at which it is applied. A section of the ball cut across the joint between the inlay and the main body wall reveals to the eye or touch no added thickness. There is no shoulder back of the joint but the interior appears as smooth and as free from any ribbed or shoulder effect here as at the adjacent portions of the wall. This is doubtless due to the elasticity of the rubber and its capacity to stretch under the pressure of the gas.

The structure, therefore, is substantially of the same resiliency at all parts.

Such a ball may be produced in quantities at a cost'that will enable marketing ata low price.

The sheet rubber piece is as elasticas the body of the ball, that is, all parts are elastic to about the same degree, and the bailrl will bounce approximately as hiigh when the design portion hits the floor or other surface as when the main body of the ball hits.

It will be noticed that no cement is employed in uniting the sheet rubber piece to the ball, but the union is autogenous, and the ball, when full-y cured, presents a perfect outer spherical surface, despite the fact that the design piece in the manufacture is laid onto the thickness of rubber constituting the body wall of the ball.

No paint being used, the objection willbe avoided of the design cracking, becoming chipped and dropping oli'. lil/*here paint is used the rubber will deteriorate from the oil therein and its resiliency where the design is located will be lessened.

Fig. 3 is of a diagrammatic character, the uncured ball being represented in a conventional manner;

l claim:

1. A hollow elastic thin walled rubber playing ball having a design portion of elastic sheet rubber inlaid in the surface of the ball, and autogenously united therewith.

2. A hollow elastic thin walled rubber playing ball having a design portion of elastic sheet rubber inlaid in the surface of the ball, and autogenously united therewith, the surface of said inlay being flush with the surface of the body of the ball, substantially as described. i

A hollow elastic thin walled rubber playing ball having an inlay of elastic rubber in its surface and exposed on its outer face, said inlay bearing a design on its surface, substantially as described.

4;. A hollow elastic thin walled rubber playing ball having an elastic sheet rubber piece united therewith with its outer surface flush with the adjacent spherical surface of the ball, the composite wall of the ball where the inlayoccurs being of substantially the same thickness as the adjacent wall portions ofthe main body andV of substantially equal resiliency, substantially as described.

A hollow elastic thin walled 'rubber playing: ball having design portions of elastic sheet rubber inlaid in its surface at substantially opposite points thereof and autogenously united therewith. i

(i. A hollow resilient rubber ball having a resilient rubber piece inlaid in its surface and composed of a central body part and substantially radiating extensions, substantially as described.

7. A hollow resilient rubber bal-l having a resilient rubber piece inlaid in its surface, said piece being thinner than the underlying warll portion of the ball, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature.

RALPH E. RILEY. 

